Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)
Patchogue, NY| Senior Billy Heenan went for a career-high 21 points on 8-12 shooting as the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) men's basketball team suffered a 79-66 Skyline Conference loss to SUNY Maritime inside the Danzi Center on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Golden Eagles fall to 3-7 (2-3 Skyline) on the season while Maritime records its first win of the year and improves to 1-7 (1-2 Skyline).
A tight opening five minutes yielded a 13-10 edge for St. Joseph's with junior Fernando Vazquez expanding the lead to six points (16-10) with a three pointer at 14:05. Maritime would later tie the game at 24 courtesy of a John Liccese layup at 6:02, and with 39 seconds remaining in the first frame the guard drained a three to give the guests a seven-point lead (39-32).
Junior Andy Laurent tallied four points off of a layup and a couple of free throws in the closing seconds of the half as the Golden Eagles entered the break down four (40-36).
The two sides traded points through the first seven minutes of the second half, but it was a three-ball from Heenan at 12:19 that brought St. Joseph's to within two points (51-49). The Privateers would respond with the a 7-1 run across the next four minutes to establish a 58-50 lead with 8:59 to play, and later maintained a nine-point edge (68-59) at 4:16.
Heenan—who went 4-6 from beyond the arc—sunk another three pointer a 3:50 (68-62) to ensure the Golden Eagles remained within striking distance, but a three-ball from Maritime's Brendon Halligan and three free throw conversions by Michael Walker sealed the guests' 79-66 win.
Laurent's 18 points supplemented Heenan's team-best 19 points in a match that saw the Golden Eagles' bench contribute zero points. Vazquez went for 15 points and four assists, and Isaiah Moore scored seven and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Maritime's Liccese scored a game-high 26 points and dished out nine assists.
The Privateers outrebounded the Golden Eagles 42-30 but also turned the ball over more (19-13). Despite holding an edge in shooting from three (31.3%-25.0%), St. Joseph's was outshot 54.5%-34.4% overall from the field.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Monday, January 4 when they travel to face the College of Mount Saint Vincent in a Skyline Conference showdown. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM. Live stats will be available at sjcgoldeneagles.com.